Fundraising efforts in House District 85 race show no surprises

Published: Wednesday, January 13, 2010

ENRIQUE RANGEL

AUSTIN - Reports of money raised in the second half of 2009 - which all candidates for office must make public by no later than midnight Friday - are slowly coming in. And in the Republican race in Texas House District 85, there have been no surprises.

Plainview businessman Jim Landtroop reported $18,523 - money left over from his failed 2006 run - while Jones County accountant David Andrews had only $1,830 in the bank, a tenth of what Landtroop started with this year.

But regardless of what the two rivals had in the bank as of Dec. 31, each said he felt good about his chances in the March 2 Republican primary.

"We're just beginning our campaign and what we are doing now is taking our message to the voters," said Landtroop, who declared his candidacy in mid-December. "I am also planning some fundraisers."

"The race is just starting and I've got a good message for the voters," said Andrews, who declared his candidacy in mid-September. "I am going to beat Landtroop with good ideas."

The winner of the Landtroop-Andrews race will face incumbent Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton, in the Nov. 2 general election. Heflin, who is seeking his third two-year term, does not have a challenger in his party's primary. And though he has not filed his campaign finance report with the Texas Ethics Commission, Heflin said he will report about $28,500 and plans to have a series of fundraisers between now and the fall campaign.

If Landtroop were to beat Andrews in the Republican primary, District 85 voters would see a rematch in the fall election. In 2006 Heflin and Landtroop ran against each other for what was then an open seat and Heflin won by just 217 votes - one of the narrowest Legislature races that year.

Regardless of who wins the GOP primary, the District 85 race is expected to get statewide attention in the fall because the seat is in the Republican Party of Texas' must-win list. A decisive majority of the voters in the district generally vote for Republican candidates. But they have made an exception with Heflin and with his predecessor Pete Laney, D-Hale Center. Laney represented the largely rural 16-county district for 34 years, including 10 as speaker of the House.

Heflin said no matter whom he runs against in the fall, he likes his chances, too.

"We feel very good about our campaign," he said. "The voters know who I am, where I stand on the issues and what I've done for this district."

Incumbents and challengers in a House district, as well as those running for an open seat, usually raise tens of thousands of dollars for TV and radio commercials, as well as mailers.

There are two other Texas House districts in the South Plains, 83 and 84, and both have contested races, too. However, as of Tuesday morning none of the candidates had filed their campaign finance reports with the Ethics Commission.